The Will To Survive
by DancingKitten16
Summary: Meet Nina Martin, a teen girl who is not so ordinary. She's battling Rhabdomysarcoma cancer alongside her friends, an odd group of hospital patients that just happened to meet one day in the cafeteria. Can they give each other the will to survive? Or will they slowly be beaten? Fabina, Peddie, Jara, Amfie. Rated T for later chapters. WARNING: IT WILL BE INTENSE LATER ON.
1. Meeting

**Okay, so after some consideration, I have decided to write the story! But I may not be able to finish it, so if it comes to that, then I will put it up for adoption. On with the story,then?**

**Here is the list of diseases that everybody has, with a brief description.**

Nina/ Rhabdomyosarcoma _(Most common childhood soft tissue cancer. Nina has it in her tongue. It is usually treated with many surgeries to remove the cancer-infected tissue. Treatment is followed by chemotherapy.)_

Fabian/ Osteosarcoma _(Most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents. Fabian has it in his arm. Once again, treated with surgeries followed by chemotherapy.)_

Amber/ Hodgkin Lymphoma _(Cancer characterized by progressive enlargement of affected lymph nodes (think throat) Treated with chemotherapy)_

Alfie/ Hepatocellular Carcinoma _(Cancer of the liver. Tumor can be removed with surgery but sometimes requires a liver transplant from a donor, not really followed by chemotherapy but we'll pretend)_

Patricia/ Acute lymphoblastic leukemia _(Most common childhood cancer. Affects white blood cells. Chemotherapy is most common treatment. In some cases, a bone marrow transplant is needed.)_

Eddie/ Acute Myeloid Leukemia _(Affects white blood cells. Treated with chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants.)_

Joy/Oligodendroglioma _(Brain tumor that arises from tissue. Treatment is surgery to remove tumor, sometimes followed by radiation.)_

Jerome/ Craniopharyngioma _(Brain tumor occurs just above the pituitary gland. Treated with surgery/radiation.)_

Mara/ Gliomatosis Cerebri _(Intense brain tumor. Hardly ever removed from surgery. Chemotherapy and Radiation follow possible surgeries. __RIP Elizabeth__)_

**On with the story! I do not own House of Anubis **

_Beep…. Beep….._ Nina opened her eyes. The bright lights on the ceiling above her were blinding. She blinked a few times and the brightness slowly faded. Nina sat up, being careful not to rip out her I.V.

"Good morning, sunshine." A friendly, cheery voice came from the side of the room. Nina glanced over to see her Gran sitting in a brightly colored orange chair with yellow pillows. She was knitting a brown blanket.

Nina smiled at the sight of her grandmother. Gran was the one thing that was always there and always would be. When everything around Nina was changing, there was always the same old cookie-baking, blanket-knitting, love-giving Gran when she turned around. And she reminded Nina of home, and that gave Nina hope that she would one day, go back.

"Good morning, Gran." Nina said. She studied the room. The walls were yellow. There was a "Get Well" poster that Nina and her friend Patricia had made taped to the back of the wooden door. Bright orange chairs and a big, comfy red sofa made the room look inviting and welcoming. There were also several medical machines surrounding Nina, but she tried not to notice those. Her eyes finally found the tiny clock up on the wall. _11:43…_

"Gran, why didn't you go get breakfast without me?" Nina asked. Gran didn't answer; she knew Nina knew. _Because you can't. You can't leave me alone because of this stupid cancer._ _Of course. That's what it always is._ Gran gave Nina a slight half-smile, as if to attempt to lighten her mood, but Nina's frown was planted firmly on her face. Gran looked Nina in the eye.

"Here sweetie, we'll go down now. Do you need any help?" Gran asked, motioning to the rack Nina's I.V. tube was connected to. Nina shook her head, swung her legs to the side of the bed, and then slid her feet into her light blue slippers. She immediately tried to stand up, but was unbalanced and dizzy. She fell back into her bed. Gran walked over and offered her arm. Nina gripped it and pulled herself up. The duo walked into the hallway.

The hallway had always reminded Nina of a street. The different kinds of illnesses she saw in people- those were the many different cars. The people going were on the right, and the people coming were on the left. Nina's thoughts ended as she entered the elevator, still gripping her Gran's arm for dear life.

When Nina and Gran finally arrived at the lunch room, they ordered their lunch-ish breakfast-ish meal- brunch, almost- and sat down next to Patricia, her mother Patty, and her twin sister Piper. Gran, Patty, and Piper began some boring conversation about politics while Patricia and Nina giggled to each other.

Just then, a young girl with black curls walked over to their table. She too had a rack full of blood, which was flowing into her I.V. Nina wondered what disease she had. _Cancer? No. She still has hair, and she would've lost it by now if she needs blood. _

"Hi, I'm Mara Jaffray. Do you mind if I sit here? There are no other tables," Mara said, motioning to the busy cafeteria.

"Sure, Mara. Make yourself at home." Patty smiled. The girl grinned slightly and muttered a small 'thank you.'

Patricia and Nina watched the slim figure eat her salad. She was absolutely silent. Not the tiniest peep to be heard. The friends looked at each other, sending each other silent messages saying _'You talk first,' _or _'No, you!'_

Finally, Patricia mustered up the courage to start a conversation. "So, Mara, what brings you to this hospital? I have leukemia." Patricia said. Mara stayed silent.

"I have rhabdomysarcoma. It's a-" Nina began.

"A cancer of the soft tissue, the most common soft tissue cancer in childhood actually. Treated with multiple surgeries and chemo." Mara finished softly. Nina and Patricia stared at Mara in amazement.

"How do you know that?" Nina asked, still in shock.

"I read ahead in my textbooks. I'm supposed to be reading my real level each year, but I can read so much faster than that, so I read all of them." Mara blushed shyly. "Oh, and by the way, I have Gliomatosis Cerebri. It's a brain tumor. It's really rare…" The girl trailed off. Suddenly, she perked up and waved to a boy with dirty blond hair who was sitting across the cafeteria with a few other kids.

"Oooh, who's that?" Patricia giggled at Mara's sudden cheerfulness.

"That's my boyfriend, Jerome, and some of my other friends. Would you like to meet them?" Mara asked. Nina and Patricia nodded eagerly. They loved getting to know other people in the hospital. Mara walked the girls over to the table.

"Hi everyone! These are my new friends, Nina and Patricia. Nina, Patricia, this is Jerome, Joy, Amber, Alfie, Fabian, and Eddie." Mara introduced the two groups. "You guys don't mind if they sit with us, do you?" The kids sitting at the table shook their heads. Nina noticed that they all had I.V. racks and that most of them were, for lack of a better word, without hair, just like her and Patricia. Patricia sat in between Joy and Eddie and Nina sat in between Amber and Fabian. Within minutes, everybody felt as though they had known each other for years.

This was the beginning of a bond that would encounter both triumphs and tears, but would last forever. This was the beginning of a new generation of cancer survivors. And this beginning gave 9 people the will to survive.

**And… ta-da! Like I may have said, updates may not come quick for this story. So…. Whatdya think? Love it? Hate it? Meh it? REVIEW! Please. Thank you!**

**-Dancing Kitten 16**


	2. Announcement

**Short little mid-chapter, just cause I want to get it done. Pretty much all Nina and Patricia talking.**

Nina Martin lay in bed that afternoon wishing that she could still be in the cafeteria with her new friends. She liked them- they made her feel like she was a normal kid again, who went to school, did homework, did sports and clubs, and had actual friends. Before Nina and Patricia went upstairs again, they had gotten everyone's hospital room numbers and phone numbers.

Nina's new friends were all very… different. She liked Amber, who was somewhat of an airhead. Amber was lively, and optimistic. Nina needed some optimism in her life.

Then there was Fabian, the only other person Nina felt she could develop a very close relationship to. He seemed kind, and sweet, and he was kind of cute, after all… Maybe there was something there…

Nina pushed these thoughts out of her head, dark ones taking their places. Something there? As if she could actually have a future, as could Fabian? She frowned, not liking what she was thinking and not being able to forget it. It stuck to the back of her head like glue for the rest of the day, a shadow that could never be shaken off.

Gran had gone out with a couple of her friends, but only after Nina had convinced her she would be fine. Now, Nina wished she hadn't gone. She was lonely, all cooped up in her tiny hospital room. _Even if it is cheery and bright, it will never be home._ She thought, taking her Soduko booklet from the nightstand. She did 8 pages, then put down her book and sighed. This wasn't fun at all.

She was just putting the book back in its place on the nightstand when the door slowly opened. Patricia's head peeked in. "Hey, Nina," She wheeled her blood stand with her as she walked over to the couch and then plopped down.

"Hey," Nina said quietly. Patricia was usually cheery- well, not exactly _cheery_- but fairly happy. However, today she seemed as though something sad was lingering around her brain. Nina wondered what it was that had put a damper on her mood.

"Nina?" Patricia asked. Nina's mouth opened slightly. She breathed in and out, expecting bad news.

"Yeah?" She asked, almost silently, looking to Patricia. Patricia sighed and began to fiddle with her hands, which rested on her lap almost daintily.

"I have a surgery tomorrow. It's a big one," Patricia felt like vomiting. She hated the thought of needles, blood, anything having to do with surgeries. Yet she had been in so many they were oddly part of her normal routine.

Nina didn't say anything, but her eyes did. They seemed to be shooting x-rays through Patricia- Even though Patricia wasn't looking at them, she could still tell the message they were sending. They sent sympathy, a kind of sympathy that didn't come from the millions of people having fundraisers to find a cure. It was a special kind of sympathy, one that only friends who have gone through this know.

The surgery was scheduled from 6:00 A.M sharp, the next morning. As always, Nina would be right outside the surgery room, waiting, staying until it was over to support her friend- but she never expected who else would be there.

**CLIFFY!**

**-Olivia5k5**


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